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PRoPuLsIoN MACHINE Filed Aug. 14; 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 6v llNVENTUR LDRIN Il. MCELEARY y JBY QM AT1-n n N EY United States Patent Office 3,048,326 Patented Aug. 7, 1962 3,048,326 PROPULSION MACHINE Lorin D. McCleary, 5741 Indianola Ave., Indianapolis, Ind. Filed Aug. 14, 1959, Ser. No. 833,801 2 Claims. (Cl. 233-150) This invention, while highly usable in propelling vehicles in general, finds a particular usefulness in the propulsion of airplanes. v

The invention involves a machine which will evacuate air in the front of a vehicle and create a high degree of pressure between the discharge of the vehicle and the air behind.

A primary object of the invention resides in the provision of a mechanism that will utilize the gravitation of atmospheric air in respect to the mechanism and the inertia of the atmosphere simultaneously with one and the same mechanism to propel a vehicle.

A further important object of the invention is to provide a propulsion machine which may -be manufactured at relatively low cost and which will have a low fuel consumption particularly in respect to the commonly operated jet engine vehicles.

A further important object of the invention is to provide a simple unit which may be multiplied in respect to numbers of units in various stages or side by side applications where each unit is to be relatively small and yet the over-all effect is to be multiplied by the number of units employed.

These and many other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those versed in the art in the following description of one particular form of the device, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is a view in top plan of a structure embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view in end elevation as viewed from the right hand side of the device as illustrated in FIG. l;

FiG. 3 is a view in left hand end elevation;

FIG. 4 is a view in vertical transverse section on the line 4-4 in FIG. l;

FIG. 5 is a view in vertical longitudinal section on the line 5 5 in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a view in longitudinal section on the line 6--6 in FIG. 4.

Referring to vFIG. 4 primarily, a doughnut cylinder 10 is provided having an internal, annular, circular cross section shape. A circular plate 11 is xed on a longitudinally extending shaft 12 which passes centrally through the annular member outside of the chamber 10a. That is, the cylinder 10 concentrically surrounds the shaft 12 and the plate 11 is carried within a housing 13 entirely closing off the central area of the cylinder 10.

The plate 11 enters lby its periphery through the inner circumferential wall of the cylinder 10 to have its periphery continue in effect the surface of the chamber 10a. A piston, FlG. 4, 14 is fixed to the plate 11 and is slidingly fitted into the chamber 10a with or Without packing rings, herein shown without packing rings, so that when the shaft 12 rotates, the plate 11 will sweep the piston 14 around the chamber 10a.

The chamber 10a is provided with a transverse slot 16, herein shown as longitudinally across its uppermost end, FIG. 4. A narrow width housing 17 joins the cylinder 10 and extends vertically upwardly therefrom in sealed relation with the cylinder 10i so as to prevent escape of air or gas under pressure from the chamber 10a from the housing 17.

A shaft 18 is mounted on the housing 17 to extend sealably therethrough with a running fit. On this shaft 18 is fixed an intercepter disk 19 which enters the chamber 19a to have its peripheral portion in substantially sliding contact with the periphery of the plate 11. This disk 19 is entirely confined by its portion outside of the chamber 10a within the housing 17. Since there is but one piston 14 traveling around the chamber 10a, the disk 19 will be driven in a 1-1 ratio with the turning of the shaft 12. This speed ratio is maintained lby means of a drive comprising in the present instance a bevel gear 20 fixed to the shaft 12 constantly meshing with a bevel gear 21 fixed on a shaft 22 extending upwardly and carrying a bevel gear 23 on its opposite end to be in constant mesh with a gear 24 fixed on a transverse shaft 25 in turn carrying a bevel gear 26 in constant mesh with a gear 27 fixed on the shaft 18. The various shafts 12, 22, and 2Sy are suitably mounted on a framework generally designated by the numeral 28.

The disk 19 is provided with a cutout generally designated by the numeral 29 having a sufficient circumferential length to clear the piston 14 as it passes by the plane of the disk 19 and then bring in a solid portion of the disk behind the piston. In this cutout, there is a peripheral edge 30 having a radius of curvature from the center of the shaft 18 such that it will have a slight clearance, such as a running lit as the piston 14 will travel thereacross. There is an approximate semicircular edge portion 31 merging from the edge 30 and around to practically a point 32. The radius of curvature of this circular edge 31 exceeds slightly the radius of curvature of the piston 14 so that the piston may travel thereacross, this edge portion 31 being in effect a leading edge. Around the edge 3ft at the opposite Zone of the cutout 29, the end of the disk 19 across that zone has a reverse curvature so that there is the curved end 33 n directed toward the curved edge 31, FIG. 5. This edge 33 is in eect a trailing edge to close in quickly behind the piston 14 as it traverses the cutout 29. In other words there is a quick opening and a quick closing in front and behind the piston 14 respectively. The edge 33 is curved to follow closely the curvature of the chamber 16u, that is using substantially a semicircular area thereacross.

This intercepting disk 19 is located between a cylinder intake port 34 4and a discharge port 35. This port 34 opens into a valve chamber 34a to which is connected an intake draft tube 37 opening into a housing 36 which is substantially cylindrical in shape, the axis of which is parallel to the axis of the cylinder 19; FIG. 6. A valve shaft 37a axially enters the housing 36 through a closed head 38 to be supported rotatably thereby. The shaft 37a carries an approximate conical hood 39 therearound, fixed to the shaft in the form herein shown by an end portion 40 which, together with the end of the shaft 37a is tapered to a point `41 directed to the tube 37. The valve itself constitutes a cylindrical portion 42 fixed -to the base of the cone 39 riding around the inside of the housing 36 to have this portion close off the port 34, or rather the intake to this port 34 from the mounting conduit 34a. This cylindrical portion 42 constituting the valve has an opening between the circumferential ends 43 and 44. 'Thus when the opening lbetween those ends 43 and 44 is over the member 34a air may be pulled in through the tube 37 interiorly of the valve wall 42 and thence into the cylinder chamber 10a through the port 34, the timing being such that this takes place after the piston 14 travels past the port 34, the piston 14 as viewed in FIG. 4, traveling counterclockwise. The shaft 37a driving the valve 42 carries a bevel gear 46 in constant mesh with a gear 47 fixed on a jack shaft 48 in turn carrying a bevel -gear 49 in constant mesh with a gear fixed on the shaft 12, FIG. 3.

There is a discharge valve housing 51 carried on a conduit 35a fitting over the port 35. This housing 51 carries a cylindrical valve 52 interiorly thereof with a sliding t, and this valve S2 is lixed on a shaft 53 axially entering the housing 51. The discharge housing 51 and valve S2 follow exactly the construction as illustrated in FIG. 6, for the intake valve, this exhaust valve 52 having an opening through its circumferential side between the edges 54 and 54a so that pressure built up between the piston 14 and the disk 19 within the chamber 10a may escape through the valve 52 between the edges 54 and 54a when properly -registered with the opening from the port 35 through the conduit 35a and out through the tube S into the atmosphere.

The exhaust valve 52 is rotated by a drive directly from the shaft 12 on which is fixed the bevel gear 56 in constant mesh with a gear 57 tixed to the shaft 58. The shaft 58 carries a fixed bevel gear 59 thereon in constant mesh with a bevel gear 60 xed on the shaft 53, FIG. 1, completing the drive. The drive between the shaft 12 and the shaft 53 is on a 1 to 1 ratio.

The timing of the valves in relation to the position of the piston 14 is such that in the exhaust or discharge valve 52, the opening would extend around between the edges S4 to 54a in a counterclockwise direction leaving a solid Wall therebetween, the edge 54 being adjacent the port 3S with the piston 14 in approximately the position illustrated in FlG. 4. As the piston 14 starts to close over the port 35, the closed portion of the valve 52 between the edges 54 and 54a continues on around to close off the port, while the piston 14 traverses through the space normally occupied by the disk 19 which has rotated sutliciently to permit the piston 14 to pass therethrough, approaching the port 34. The port 34 will be closed over by the portion of the valve 42 between the edges 43 and 44 in a clockwise direction, the edge 43 having traversed the port 34 while the piston 14 is coming around toward the port 34, the closed portion of the valve between those edges 43 and 44 retaining the port 34 closed until the piston 14 has passed the port 34, whereupon the edge 44 starts clearing the port 34 to admit air behind the piston 14 as it travels on around the chamber a. As the piston 14 so travels, air is being exhausted through the port 3S into the valve 52 since the valve is then presented to receive the compressed air therethrough. In each instance, the dwell of the opening each valve is 280 degrees, and the closure is 80 degrees. The valve timing is such that both the intake and the exhaust valves 42 and 52 are closed during the period of travel of the piston through the disk 19.

As previously indicated, the shaft 12 is interconnected with any suitable power source such as an engine (not shown).

Therefore while I have shown and described my invention in the one particular form, it is obvious that structural changes may be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention and I therefore do not desire to be limited to that precise form beyond the limtations which may be imposed by the following claims.

I claim:

1. In an air moving device,

an annular piston chamber;

a rotating piston traversing said chamber;

an abutment rotating transversely through said chamber on an axis perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said piston;

said abutment having an opening permitting said piston to pass therethrough;

said piston chamber having an inlet opening on one side and an outlet opening on the other side of said rotating abutment;

a cylindrical inlet valve chamber closed across one end and open at the other end, and having a side opening adjacent said closed end communicating with said piston chamber inlet opening;

an inlet rotating valve in said inlet valve chamber rotating on the longitudinal axis of the valve chamber, and having a generally conical body with its apex pointed toward the valve chamber open end and overhanging the chamber side opening, and having a cylindrical wall section extending from the base end of said body intermittently opening and closing oftr said valve chamber side opening;

an outlet cylindrical discharge valve chamber closed across one end and open at the other end, the open end being oppositely directed from the open end of said inlet valve chamber, and having a side opening adjacent said closed end communicating with said piston chamber outlet opening;

an outlet rotary valve rotating within said outlet valve chamber rotating on the longitudinal axis thereof, having a generally conical body with its apex directed toward the outlet valve chamber opening and overhanging the valve chamber side opening, and having a cylindrical Wall section extending from the base of said body intermittently opening and closing oil said outlet valve chamber side opening;

means rotating said piston, said abutment, and said inlet and outlet valves in timed relation;

the rotating elements rotating in the sequence of the abutment allowing the piston to pass through the abutment opening while both inlet and outlet valves are in closed positions, the abutment turning to close olf the piston chamber behind the piston, the inlet and outlet valves opening upon the piston passing the piston chamber inlet opening, sweeping out gases ahead of the piston through said outlet valve and tending to induce a vacuum between the inlet valve opening, the abutment and the piston;

said valve axes being approximately parallel; and

air entering said intake valve chamber and being smoothly directed from longitudinal travel around the intake valve conical body and radially into said piston chamber, circumferentially traversing the piston chamber, and discharged radially into said outlet valve chamber and directed by the conical body of the outlet valve longitudinally from the outlet valve chamber in a direction opposite to end parallel with the air intake direction.

l 2. The structure of claim 1 in which said piston chamber inlet and outlet openings are through the periphery of the chamber, and said valve axes are parallel with the rotational axis of said piston.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 43,064 Zellen etal June 7, 1864 54,006 Norton Apr. 17, 1866 259,965 Wing June 20, 1882 259,966 Wing June 20, 1882 518,145 Heinicke Apr. 10, 1894 684,874 Simon Oct. 22, 1901 784,960 `Nass Mar. 14, 1905 804,027 Neumann Nov. 7, 1905 804,159 Neumann Nov. 7, 1905 1,098,256 Harper May 26, 1914 1,266,605 Madero May 21, 1918 1,644,259 Lyon Oct. 4, 1927 2,273,625 Concannon Feb. 17, 1942 2,603,412 Chilton July 15, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 27,868 Switzerland Sept. 25, 1902 186,268 Great Britain Sept. 28, 1922 

